Twitter Tools for Local Tweeps

Yes, the Internet has made it “a small world after all”. It’s possible to find out what’s happening minute by minute in Mongolia but what if you want to start conversations on Twitter with people in your own community?

Here’s a short list of some Twitter Tools that will help small businesses connect with their local market.

Twitter Search

Using the good ol’ Twitter Search using keywords such as the name of your city/province/state and things related to such is a great way to find people local to you on Twitter. For example, I live in Barrie, ON – a good ol’ Canadian hockey town. If I’m searching for people to follow in Barrie, I might use “Barrie” as well as “OHL Colts”.

TwitterLocal

Allows you to find ‘Tweeples’ (Twitter users) geographically by automatically updated real-time stream of the location searches possible with Twitter Search. This downloadable application will notify you of new tweets from your area, and find interesting or like-minded local Twitter users to follow. http://www.twitterlocal.net/

NearbyTweets

This site automatically determines where you are, and loads up a list of recent tweets and Twitter users within a specific radius. You can change location, radius, and add keywords, and the results are a lot more visually appealing and easier to navigate than Twitter’s search engine. http://nearbytweets.com/

Twitterholic

Although this site claims it’s ‘being constantly updated’, it shows my stats from last year! But it’s still worth a mention because it does pull up a list of local Tweeps. Just type your Twitter handle into the http://twitterholic.com/ box and click search and Twitterholic will produce your (albeit) inaccurate stats and a list of local people using twitter.

Twellowhood

My fav tool to search for local twitter users is Twellowhood. It combines the awesomeness of the Twellow Twitter directory with the ability to zoom into to your geographical area with a fancy schmancy map. When you’ve arrived at your destination then you can check out fellow Twitters extended Twellow Bios. If you haven’t signed up with Twellow make sure you do so while your checking out your neighbours. Click on the pics below to get a closer look. http://www.twellow.com/twellowhood/

GeoChirp

Another super cool Tweeple finder is GeoChirp. It’s a Google Map and Twitter hybrid that not only finds people in your area but also helps you search for tweets about specific topics as well.

If you want to search for people Tweeting about the best cheeseburger in Barrie, Ontario then just select the area in the map, set the radius your willing to travel for the aforementioned cheeseburger, enter the keyword “cheeseburger” or any other related keyword and ‘Voila’ it’s all over but the heartburn. Click on the pic below for a better looksy.